Our Team

Sue Gainsborough - Director

Sue has worked in the cultural sector for over 25 years, in senior development roles as Artistic Director, Business Manager and Arts Development Consultant. She has led on a number of major, and award-wining, strategic arts, heritage, community and partnership initiatives, working across public, third and private sectors and with Higher Education.

Sue has particular interests in social enterprise & artist led developments, delivery in rural and community contexts, and progression routes for young creatives and emerging practitioners. A visual art graduate, her creative interests are mostly focused on artists and experimental moving image, animation, sound, cinema and performing arts.

Sue sits on the Business Advisory Board for the School of Art, University of Wolverhampton, has served on the steering group for FilmHub, and is a founding and management board member of CCS, the Local Cultural Education Partnership.

Sue is also Company Director for MediaActive.

Richard Hepenstal - Company Manager

Richard has worked for over 18 years within the arts sector in national, regional, local and rural contexts, managing, delivering and administering exhibitions, art projects and events with key strategic arts organisations such as Arts Council England, UK Film Council / BFI, LOCOG, British Council and MOSTYN.

He also has an excellent knowledge of both art history and contemporary art practice - formalised by way of Postgraduate Certificates in Social and Cultural Theory and the History of Art, as well as a Masters Degree in Fine Art. He has particular expertise - across both theory and practice - in experimental film and artist moving image.

Richard is also a Company Director for MediaActive.

Samantha Moore - MediaActive Associate

Samantha is an award-winning animated documentary maker and researcher, and Senior Lecturer in Film & Animation at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her teaching is in the areas of ideas development, experimental and innovative animation, and combining research and practice. She is passionate about using animation to convey information in new and interesting ways!

Samantha is a also Company Director for MediaActive.

Mary White - MediaActive Associate

Mary is a painter by training and pursues her own artistic practice. She has knowledge and experience of professional museum and gallery management, contemporary arts practice, and organisational development, gained as Shrewsbury Museums Manager, and as Trustee, and former Chair, of the Board at Oriel Davies - one of Wales' key public art galleries, located in Newtown, Powys, that presents 'world-class, thought-provoking and challenging art by national and international artists'.

Mary is also a Company Director for MediaActive.

Joseph Gainsborough - MediaActive Associate

Joseph is an award-winning cinematographer and creative, working on a range of projects from photography to multi-media art workshops with young people including refugees.

He has collaborated with many talented and award-winning filmmakers to create films for the TATE, BBC, VICE and many charities. His work has been screened at festivals such as the BFI London Film Festival, BFI Flare, BIFA (British Independent Film Awards), Leeds International Film Festival, Global Health Film Festival and Raindance Film Festival.

Adrian Plant - MediaActive Associate

Adrian has worked for numerous museums and galleries across the UK, including the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; Cambridge Darkroom; the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich and, for ten years as Curator of Exhibitions, Education and Outreach Programmes, Tate Liverpool. Between 2001-2014 Adrian was the Exhibitions Officer for Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery.

In his time as Curator Adrian has curated exhibitions and commissions with a wide range of international artists including Antony Gormley, Louise Short, Vladimir Arkhipov, Ivan and Heather Morison, Dorothy Cross, Marcus Coates, Shirley Chubb, Thomson and Craighead.

An experienced musician and performer, since 2014, Adrian now leads professional music workshops in a variety of community settings.